BJP goes on in to damage control mode on remarks against Mayawati and Gujarat episode
The dust had barely settled on the attack on Dalits in Gujarat when the BJP faced a storm over remarks made by its leader in Uttar Pradesh against BSP supremo Mayawati. The series of episodes could not have come at a worse time for the BJP, which is trying to reach out to Dalits ahead of the UP and Punjab assembly elections.
The worry in the party of the fallout was palpable, as it reinforced its line of defence that it had acted promptly. In Lucknow, the state leadership acted swiftly sacking its state unit vice-president Dayashankar Singh for his remarks equating Mayawati to a prostitute. The 45-year-old yuva morcha leader was one of the 15 vice presidents of the party in the poll-bound state.
"Removing Singh from all party posts, even after he apologised, was a strong message for party workers that such language will not be tolerated," BJP's UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya told DNA.
In Rajya Sabha, the BJP faced a stinging attack from the BSP supremo who underlined that she considered the country's oppressed her family and had the backing of the entire Opposition. Finance minister Arun Jaitley expressed "personal regret" telling Mayawati that he condemned the remarks.
Mayawati was visibly upset when she was first shown the clip of Singh's remarks and lashed out angrily at the BJP. However, what may cause more concern for the BJP would be the ammunition its party leader has given her to counter its Dalit outreach in the 2017 UP election.
The BJP went on the defensive on both issues– Mayawati and Gujarat. As the Opposition cornered the party inside Parliament on the beating of four Dalits in Una in Somnath district over skinning a cow, outside the House, the party put up its Dalit union ministers to defend the Gujarat government.
At a joint press conference, the ministers–Thawarchand Gehlot, Arjun Meghwal and Krishna Raj–accused the Opposition of trying to draw political mileage from the Gujarat incident and that the state government had acted.
Gehlot said the Modi government's project to develop five places associated with Dalit icon BR Ambedkar showed its concern for the community. He refuted that the RSS had anything to do with the incident.
He appealed to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Mayawati not to visit the state in view of the tense situation and said it would only show that they wanted to politicise the situation.
"In two months, charge sheet will be filed. Strong action will be taken. Senior state ministers have met the victims. We will give all assistance, including financial, to them," he said.
As part of its Dalit outreach, the party was hoping to mobilise support through the Dhamma Chetna Yatra led by a 87-year-old monk who is moving throug the Bodh Vihars in the state, trying to win over support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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